Countdown week . . . almost Halloween

It has become the national holiday where children go house to house to get free candy. But that’s not how it began . . . Trick or Treat was referred to Beggars Night years ago, when children begged for food.

Walt Disney created the Skeleton Dance in 1929 and exploited the idea using classical music to his bony dancer characters.

Trick or Treat cartoons were brought into the forefront in the early 50’s and made going house to house an annual custom.

Mainstream cartoons became part of the culture and were distributed throughout North America and the UK, solidifying the customs and beginning the trend of costumes. Some still homemade costumes but others, now store bought. Trick or Treat became a lucrative business, and the real origins of Halloween were forgotten.

Trick or Treat may now be mainstream however the true roots of the man-made holiday originated from the old rituals practiced by religious groups who regard All Hallows’ Eve as a special religious day, also referred to as All Saints’ Eve.

All Saints’ Day is dedicated to the remembrance of the dead: saints, martyrs, and all the faithful departed believers.

Scholars point out that the Christian All Saints’ day took it’s beginnings from a pagan holiday of Celtic origins, called Samhain, a harvest festival. Since the late 1900’s, Celtic neopagans (followers who try to keep to the old pagan customs) and Wiccans (Wicca was defined in the 1940’s but refers to those who worship the moon goddess and the horn god) have observed Samhain, or something based on it, as a religious holiday.

The festival marked the beginning of the dark half of the year. During Samhain,the practitioners believed that the spirits and fairies (some call them Aos Sí), needed offerings to survive the winter. They left out food and drink for them. The people also believed that the souls of the dead visited their homes looking for the same hospitality.

The Samhain holiday is considered a time of year when the boundary or veil between this world and the other-world can be easily crossed. This means the spirits or fairies can more easily come into our world. To celebrate their appearance on the earthly side, and to ensure prosperity for the coming year, propitiation rituals were often performed appeasing the gods for atonement. Many have used imaginative design to envision the secret rituals performed in a macabre nature.

Often, Divination is used – that’s insight by way of the supernatural, taking account random events, and merging the disorganized into one insightful prediction. Fortune-telling practiced told people about their future. People seek answers.

The Chinese have been practicing Kau Cim.

This method of fortune telling has been used for thousands of years, and is still practiced today. People seek out guidance before making major decisions. Although not a religion, they look for good luck.

Who knows what will evolve next? The most important take away is that people at their core have a tenancy to seek supernatural answers.

We believe there is something out there greater than ourselves and we want to communicate with the entity – to seek out our future, wanting to direct our destiny. Some call upon the word of God. Others call out to the goddess, others believe in the nature of science.

“We seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go . . . ” no wait that’s something else 🙂 We seek answers to life’s questions.

Halloween is a time of year when we look to the supernatural. We watch scary movies and read haunted tales, to try to find a reason. But is the other side of the veil, paranormal activity, and other supernatural events part of science?